Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 5,431 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,639,000.
Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 86.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 96,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $117,676,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,618,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,128,000. Finally, KTF Investments LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $863,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Susquehanna set a $215.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.70.
Key KLA News
Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:
- Positive Sentiment: A broad semiconductor rally, fueled by renewed optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, strong memory demand and upcoming chip-industry earnings, supports the outlook for KLA’s wafer-inspection and process-control equipment. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
- Positive Sentiment: KLA’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $3.66 billion, while EPS of $1.05 topped the $1.00 consensus estimate. Management also issued quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, offering support for the company’s growth outlook.
- Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity, including elevated call volume, indicates that some traders are positioning for a rebound after the stock’s recent retreat. Options activity is a sentiment signal rather than a fundamental catalyst.
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a reported “Moderate Buy” consensus and several price targets above recent trading levels. However, KLA’s valuation is demanding, with a price-to-earnings ratio above 50, leaving the stock vulnerable to disappointment if semiconductor capital spending slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its Huge Run
- Negative Sentiment: CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares for approximately $881,000, while EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares worth about $2.70 million. These transactions reduced their holdings by roughly 36% and 38%, respectively, adding to a recent pattern of insider selling.
- Negative Sentiment: DekaBank disclosed a roughly 90% reduction in its KLA position, equivalent to approximately 2.86 million shares valued near $862 million at the reporting date. Although the 13F reflects holdings as of June 30 rather than current trading, the disclosure may reinforce concerns about institutional profit-taking.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 263,472 shares in the company, valued at $70,001,875.68. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. This represents a 21.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 156,499 shares of company stock valued at $34,248,710 in the last ninety days. 91.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
KLA Stock Down 1.3%
Shares of KLAC stock opened at $192.85 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $223.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.22 and a 1 year high of $307.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.59, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.45.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.
KLA Company Profile
KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.
Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.
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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KLAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Free Report).
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